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Monday, December 8, 2014

At the last NCTE conference, I had the privilege of serving
as one of the roundtable leaders for a session sponsored by the Children’s Literature Assembly called “Reading Poetry Across the Curriculum.” In
preparation for my discussion, I came across some terrific mentor texts that
could be used in a combination of ways in your writing workshop classroom.

The Fastest Game on
Two Feet and Other Poems About How Sports Began by Alice Low is a
delightful combination of history, poetry, and illustration. Many people know
that basketball was first played with peach baskets hung on the wall. But did
you know that some say soccer began as a kicking game with a skull found on an
English battlefield? Alice Low introduces the history of popular sports with a nonfiction
paragraph followed by a beautifully illustrated rhyming poem. Most students
have a favorite sport and should be naturally curious about its history. Read selections
from The Fastest Game on Two Feet to inspire
your class to research the origin of a sport. Afterwards, they can write about
it in both nonfiction form and poetry, just as the book models. Students might
also enjoy creating timelines, also included in this book. This would make a
good class project with each student contributing an illustrated page.

A Stick is an
Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer extols the joys of outdoor and
imaginative play. Bring in a stick and ask students to brainstorm all the games
it could be used for. The poem suggests using the stick as a scepter for a king
or a magic wand. This book also includes poems on favorite pastimes like hopscotch,
swinging, blowing bubbles, making pretend soup, hide-and-seek, and jump rope.
Each poem does an amazing job of portraying the activity, making them terrific
models of description.

Joy in Mudville by
Bob Raczka provides a great opportunity to compare and contrast. This
illustrated poem is a sequel to Ernest Thayer’s famous “Casey at the Bat”
reprinted at the end of the book. After reading Joy in Mudville, your class can discuss how Raczka took a
well-known story and continued it with a new character and different ending.
Students can write their own story about Mudville and a sport of their choice.
Or you could do it as a class writing project.

Students are interested in sports. They love playground
time. Using texts that celebrate what kids enjoy doing most is a sure-fire way
to provide high interest reading and inspiration for writing.